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In 1995 the Automotive Youth Educational
Systems (AYES) initiative, now recognized as a national model,
was launched as a pilot program through the Oklahoma CareerTech
system's automotive service technology programs.
It didn't take long for officials at General Motors to learn
of Oklahoma's CareerTech system. Francis Tuttle Technology
Center took the lead. It was quickly followed by four of Oklahoma's
29 technology center districts, including Moore Norman, Tulsa
Technology's Broken Arrow and Lemley campuses and Great Plains
Technology Center, in Lawton.
Today, eight more technology
centers have joined the AYES partnership. They are: Southwest
Technology Center, Altus; Western Technology Center - Burns Flat;
Eastern Okla. County Tech Center, Choctaw; Autry Technology Center,
Enid; Indian Capital Technology Center, Muskogee and Tahlequah
campuses; Northeast Technology Center, Pryor; and Meridian Technology
Center, Stillwater.
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The project, founded as General Motors Youth Educational Systems
(GMYES), has since spread to 41 states and transitioned to an
industry initiative that includes every major automotive manufacturer
94 percent of the automotive industry, according to AYES
National Manager Roger Tadajewski.
 At
the time, General Motors was looking for an educational partner
to serve as a pilot site for its youth automotive mentoring program
to address the predicted shortfall in skilled automotive technology
workers.
"As we talked to people about the
kind of training we needed and began looking across the country
for an educational partner, it became very evident that the Oklahoma
CareerTech system was where we needed to start,"
Tadajewski said. "Francis Tuttle very quickly rose to the
top and really took the lead in partnering with us to help create
this initiative."
That's why AYES has been recognized as a CareerTech
Business Champion.
CareerTech Business Champions are those businesses that
attribute much of their economic success to the partnerships
they have formed with the local technology center or high school
CareerTech programs. Francis Tuttle is one of 29 technology
centers serving Oklahomans."
Today, more than 3,000 student-interns and 2,400 mentors nationwide
are actively participating in the popular program. And, General
Motors now has nine other partnering manufacturers supporting
AYES, including: Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company, Honda,
Daimler Chrysler, Toyota, Subaru, Volkswagen, and BMW.
 The AYES initiative has grown
from a single pilot program at Francis Tuttle and by the end
of 2002, AYES plans to expand to 300 schools in 48 states, according
to Tadajewski.
As one of the industries in the nation facing a major shortage
of skilled workers over the next few years the auto industry,
partnering with the nation's educational system, is now better
prepared to counteract this shortfall, Tadajewski said.
AYES also serves as an effective model for other industries seeking
partnerships with education.
 "The industry
as a whole recognizes AYES as the model for business and
education partnerships," Tadajewski said. "We want
to provide our model to other industries to help them as they
face similar shortfalls of skilled workers."
"It's important that we provide students with a high-quality
academic and technical education that gives them a good look
into the whys and hows of learning," Tadajewski said. "We
need to show them why we're teaching them academics and how they
are going to use the academics they're learning. We want students
to understand how reading, writing, math and physics all come
together and are essential."
Working on today's high-tech cars is a
great way for students to learn about scientific principles.
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"The automobile is the most advanced
physics lab in the world on four wheels. It provides students
the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge in a real,
tangible way," Tadajewski said.
Now, AYES has paved the way for future
partnerships, thanks to the vision of General Motors' Chairman
Jack Smith and the hard work of the dealerships and the educators
who made and continue to make the AYES initiative work.
"AYES success was and is dependent upon the educators and
the dealerships who make it happen," Smith said. "Francis
Tuttle and the CareerTech system have nurtured AYES and
made it what it is today."
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John "Jack"
Smith |
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